We’ve published articles on Switch games from Indonesia, Brazil, and Poland, and now we take a look at Nintendo Switch games from the Philippines! 🇵🇭

Some Background

The Republic of the Philippines (“Republika ng Pilipinas”) has a population of around 111,100,000 people living on the archipelago, which consists of more than 7,000 islands of varying sizes. The Philippines is located around 500 miles from the coast of Vietnam. The country’s capital is Manila, which is located on the largest island, Luzon. Apparently, the country’s name comes from King Philip II of Spain – when the Spanish colonized the islands in the sixteenth century. The Spanish ruled the Philippines for 333 years, followed by U.S. rule for the next fifty years or so.

The official languages are English and Filipino/Pilipino (a language described as a standardized form of Tagalog). The Spanish language seems to have a significant influence on the Filipino language. Some estimates suggest that there are approximately 150+ different languages or dialects in the Philippines, many of which are closely related under the “Austronesian” family of languages.

Something interesting about the Philippines and video games is that in 1981, President Ferdinand Marcos made the country the first in the world to ban video games. This ban extended to pinball and slot machines, and those who owned video games and consoles had two weeks to turn them in to the police. 😱 Otherwise, they’d pay a fine of nearly $600 and/or go to jail for six months to a year. Thankfully, the ban went away around five years later. (For other interesting bans, please see former Brazilian President Quadros’ ban on bikinis. 😂)

An article from 2020 states that around 43 million Filipinos play video games – around 40% of the population. Filipino gamers apparently spent $572 million on games in 2019, and at that point in time the country was the video game industry’s 25th largest market based on revenue. Around 45% of gamers in the Philippines play on consoles.

Filipino Switch Games

Garden Story

Garden Story was created by a Filipino-American who goes by the name Picogram. It’s an adorable action RPG in which you play as Concord, a grape that has become the newest Guardian of their island, known as “The Grove.” The Grove needs to be restored, as it was infested with Rot. Explore different regions, get to know the residents of the island and give them a helping hand vine, fix up your home, and prepare yourself for combat with the occasional puzzle mixed in. There are apparently accessibility options that allow you to enjoy the story even if you aren’t quite as adept at action based combat (me), and I love that the game has different hats for you to collect. My interest in Garden Story has certainly grown, so I’ll have to download this and have a grape great time! 🌱 🍇

The Letter: A Horror Visual Novel (RATED M)

Yangyang Mobile has brought a few visual novels to Switch, including The Letter: A Horror Visual Novel. The Letter boasts an impressive word count of over 700,000 words, with 7 playable characters, many backdrops and CGs, and 50 epilogue variations!!! Inspired by classic Asian horror films, the game involves those seven characters becoming cursed; they’ll have to solve a centuries-old mystery in order to save (hopefully) everyone.

Love Esquire (RATED M)

Love Esquire (also from Yangyang Mobile) has you play as a squire (oh, I see what they did there) in a fully voiced combination of the visual novel, dating simulation, and RPG genres. And thankfully, the developers have reassured us that the love interests are indeed over 18. (As stated in the Steam description.) The game is rated M, and there will be fan service, so viewer/player discretion is advised. Raise your stats through turn based combat and try to romance one of five women to see one of the many endings in the game.

Grand Guilds

Keybol Games has published several games on Switch, including Grand Guilds from Drix Studios. This partially voice acted strategy game has you engage in turn based combat using a card based system. Customize each character’s deck to improve your chances in battle. As Eliza & Co., you’ll need to discover and neutralize the culprits behind continent-wide attacks. With the deck (😉) stacked against you, it’ll take a “grand” effort to save the world and your guild’s reputation.

Jack Axe

Jack Axe sounds like an incredibly unique experience – the game mixes Norse and Filipino culture and also stars a female lead, a woman named Jack that wields an axe. Jack defies gender norms by engaging in combat as she uses her axe to battle, but also as a tool to platform her way across this 2D open world. This colorful game allows for single or multiplayer gameplay, with up to four players in a campaign as well as a party mode.

Towertale

Towertale is apparently the first game on Nintendo Switch to provide a fully Filipino-translated experience. That’s amazing! It’s a 2D action game centered on boss battles and co-op play. Defeat the enemies lurking in the tower as you attempt to reach the top floor – treasure awaits you there! There are four characters for you to choose from, and up to four players can participate through co-op mode. Towertale seems like it will keep you entertained for a while, with 12 levels, 17 multi-phase bosses, many different modes, and even a variety of endings!

High Noon Revolver

In High Noon Revolver, you’ll be able to play as a variety of characters, such as a shotgun-wielding chicken and a robot that slashes its enemies with a sword. 🐓🤖🗡 The game is a 2D action shooter that allows you to upgrade your character and their weapons. Track down criminals and collect their bounties, using that gold to improve your character. Try to achieve a high score on your own, or play against friends in the local co-op mode!

Gnome More War

In this arcade shooter, you’ll have to protect your barn from those pesky gnomes, who appear in waves. They’ll try to steal the resources from your barn, so unlocking both offensive and defensive power-ups will be the key to victory. You can have goblin friends help you out with removing the gnomes, or you can ask a real-life friend to help you in the game’s co-op mode.

We hope you have enjoyed this article featuring great Filipino companies and their games! We want to continue to write about great indie games developed in other countries, so stay tuned for those articles! 🥰 If you’d like for us to cover your games, please reach out to us at switchitongaming@gmail.com